BMX Ramp Tips for Beginners

In recent years, people like Dave Mirra and Matt Hoffman have become celebrities because of the rise of BMX riding. Its popularity only continues to grow with the advent of extreme sporting events, such as ESPN's X Games. If you are looking to get into BMX riding, you will probably want to build a ramp to practice your tricks. If that is the case, there are a few simple tips that you should take note of to build a sturdy and safe BMX ramp.

  1. Sturdy Base

    • If you hope to get big air from your ramp, you will need to make sure that you have a very strong, sturdy base. If you have a weak or flimsy base for your ramp, you risk serious injury from the ramp either collapsing under the combined weight of you and the bike, or from wiping out due to the jump going bad because you could not maintain balance on a wobbly ramp. Many professional BMX ramps use steel bars for sturdiness. However, for a ramp that you are building in your back yard, wood weighted down with sandbags will do the job.

    Smooth Transfer

    • A jump can go terribly wrong if you don't have a flat surface to make the transfer from the ground to the ramp. A lot of people miss their jumps and get injured because of the quarter-inch lift between the ground and the wood they use. For the best transfer from the ground to the surface without losing any momentum, you will need to first get the angle at which you want the ramp to rest. Once you have done that, you will need to cut the edge of the wood that you will be using as the ramp itself at an angle that will lay it flush against the ground.

    Lightweight Materials

    • You want to use lightweight materials in the construction of your BMX ramp for one simple reason--give. Harder, heavier materials don't give nearly as much as lighter materials do. When you hit a ramp made of heavier materials, it is the rider that feels the majority of the jolt. However, when you hit a ramp made of lighter materials with more give, the impact of the bike hitting the ramp is spread out and the rider feels less of a jolt. This is why you see many BMX ramps made of plywood.